Cleaning-tool.



fl. H. SPENcffRf CLEANING TooL. l

, APPLICATION FIL ED 956.9. 1909.

v Patented N ov. 30, 1915.

m AMR WfNEssEs.-

5! X A ORNEK ideas-ifa .Y n y 'i n @nur cierren.

RA H. SNGER, 0F VJEST HARTFORD, CNNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR, T0 THE SPENCER- TURBINE CLEANER COMPANY, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICT, fla CORPORATION GF connno'rrcu'r.

Specification of Letters Patent.

CLEANING-froci..

Patentes uw. se, isis.

Application tiled-December 9, 1909. Serial No..5-32,194.

Be it known'that I, Ina citizen of the United States,and a resident of `West Hartford, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented ar nevi7 and improved Cleaning-Techdirt which the following is a specification.

My invention relates generally to the class` of devices used for' receiving and directing a current of air created by mechanical means, and more especially to that class used in cleaning operations; and the object or" the invention is to provide'a device of this class having novel `features vof advantage and utility. A- preferred form of-con'struction of Stool embodying the invention is' illustrated in the accompanying-drawings, in which Figure l is a top plan view. of 4a tool enrbodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a View in side elevation of the same. F ig. 3 is a detail viev.7 on enlarged scale in central lengthwise l vsection through the lower end of the handle fabrics.

and in vcrosssectionl through the tool shoW- .A ing the method of attachment of the tool to the handle. Fig. el is a view in cross-section through .they handle on. planev passing f Fig. 5 is a through the retaining ring. detail view in. lengthwise section' through the upper end of the handle showing the means of attachment of a hose connection. Fig. 6 is a view in cross-section through the same on plane passing through the clamping ring.

The operation of cleaning vby the'popular method known at this time. as suction cleaning is' attended with more or less labor in the use of the tools, and it there fore becomes important that these toolsand connections `shall be so constructed-aste lessen the labor required in their use` The Weight of the'toolsis one of the greatest factors entering into this question of labor;

in. operation, andr it is therefore essential that the tool shall be of minimum Weight and at the same' time capable of resisting the rapid Wear caused 'bythe constant movement of the' tool over carpets or 'like ln the construction of a tool to embody these features an equally important requirenient "oust be kept in mind, and that is, the reduction to a` -minirnunn of the friction H. SPENCER, a

caused by currents moving through the tool, this in order to obtain a maximum vde2,'ree of vacuum at theinouth ofthe tool.v vThis latter result is obtained in a-tool-having a smooth inner. surface, and' one formed of pressed sheet metal, las steel or theA like, is'

oflcarpets and like surfaces' caused bycon# sta'nt movement of the tool over them. .Yarlous means have been devised to enable the Atool to resist this v'ivear and thus prolong its usefulness, these efiorts being in the nature of a practically integral thickening of the mouth of the tool by `bending the metal into various shapes and using reV inforcements, but these have proved ine'ed tual owing to the expensive construction.

but chiefly owing to the inability-of such devices to withstand the Wear.

I have found that a tool constructed as shown herein and ,embodying my .invention will. fuliil the requirements hereinbefore mentioned.

ln the-illustration of such tool herein the numeral? denotes the handle of the tool preferably bent in curved form as shown in Fig; 2 of the drawings and 8 the tool affixed to the Llower endof. the handle. rlhese parts are constructed of metal as thinv as possible in order to secure a minimum Weight of '.tool,'and the latter is preferably formed from sheet metal pressed to shape, such a tool having the advantages above set out. This tool has a'lp't) extending around its lower edge. A A tool like this has heretofore been used, .thiswlip affording the Wearing surface for the tool during' operations but with the disadvantages hereinabove set out.

In carrying out my inigention "I provide al removable mouth piece 10 having a. tubularl v.neck 11 projecting therefrom' and of a size and shape to snugly the inner surface of the tool 8. This itfnvillbedsuch that While it will hold the shoeinjplace` for' all the requirements of use of the tool, yet it "will not be -so tight but that .the mouth piece may be removed when required for the purice pose of renewal or otherwise. A buffer or guard 12 is secured between the flange formed yby the mouth piece 10 and the lip 9, this affording a means for removably securing the buer in place.

If a tool' should be formed of sheetmetal of a thickness requisite to provide the necessary wearingqualities for the shoe the tool wouiiiii, be unduly heavy. By my im'- proved construction a tool having a body of minimum thickness may be pressed from sheet steel and a greater thickness may be provided for the wearing surface, this in the forni of a removable mouth piece. The weight of this sheet metal tool fitted with a mouth piece having` a wearing face of in creased. thickness is but a trifie more than it would be without the mouth piece, but it is not essential to the invention even that the mouth piece shall be of increased thick-` ness, as they are comparatively inexpensive and may be replaced at a minimum cost, or several may be supplied with the tool as originally furnished It is desirable that the tools may be readv ily removed from the handle to allow interchange ofthe tools.

In such'a tool heretofore invented by me and in which the tool -is swivelly mounted on a part located at an angle to the main part of the handle, the elbow constituting this angle has been a `part ofthe tool, the

ellbow being removably secured to the. hand e. joints, that embodying the swivel and that embodying the removable 'attachment to the handle, and this construction necessitated the formation of an elbow for each tool.

In order to lessen the initial cost of the tool, I have embodied inV the tool herein shown and described a construction in which the elbow is formed as an integral part of the handle, necessitating but a single elbow for all of the tools in connection with which the handle is used, and it also omits one of the joints in the entire structure. The connection serves a double purpose, embodying the swiveled mount for the tool heretofore used and also the removable connection with the handle.

The tool thus having but slight projection is extremely compact, requiring comparatively small space for storage or packing for transportation. In carrying out this idea a nipple 13 is rigidly secured to the back of the tool 8 and a groove 14 is formed in the outer surface of this nipple. The nipple has an opening .for the assage of air and is .of a size to it'the tu ular end 15 of the handle, which tubular end as shown in Fig.v

This necessitated the formation of two" split.and of such length that when its ends meet, as shown in Fig. Vl, it will be loose enough within the recess l1 to allow -free turning movement of the nipple 13 within the ring. A- clamp sleeve 18 is mounted upon a screw-threaded outer surface of the lower end of the handle, in the construction herein shown a collar 1l) secured to the handle having this threaded surface. This sleeve has an inner beveled clamping surface 2O arranged to engage the ring 17 to close its ends. This sleeve is but slightly larger than the end of the handle upon which it is supported and thetool is thus free from projections not conforming to the general shape of the handle. A stop ring 21, in the form of a split ring, is snapped into a groove 22 at the rear end of the sleeve 18, this ring contacting with the collar 19 and serving as a stop to limit the movement in one direction of the sleeve. The retaining ring 17 is of suchsize that it will pass into the space between the inner surface of the sleeve 18 and the outer surface of the nipple 13, and in practice this ring is made a trifle smaller in diameter than the width of this space. In any event, the ring willbe of such size that it may be passed into the sleeve 18 and located in the groove 14, and when located in such groove will be retained therein by the action of the beveled portion 20 of the sleeve.

A similar construction is provided at the opposite end of the handle for the attachment of a hose connection 23, this connection having a threaded surface 21 for engagement of the clamping sleeve 18 which may be a duplicate of that hereinbefore described and having the stop ring 22 acting in the same manner. The beveled inner surface 2O of the colla'r in this instance acts upon a clamp ring 25 which is split but the inner ends of which do not meet in the action of the parts. A clamp ring round in crosssection 4Amay be employed if desired, ora fibrous ring may be used, but the preferred form of ring and as shown herein', is one of a shape in cross-section to vconform to the space between the sleeve and the outer surface of the handle 7. As the clampingl sleeve 18 is moved along the handle in a direction to clamp the ring the latter is tightly bound against the handle, holding the parts firmly in position.

It is desirable that the joint where the hose is attached to the handle shall rbe airtight, and to this end the ring 25 is formed as shown in dotted outline in F ig. 5, the

.packing ends 26lapping pasteach other to construction may be departed from to a A2. A, tool havinga mouth for the admisgreater or lesser extent Without avoiding sion air, a mouth piece including a tubuthe invention. lar projection removably held Within said I cla'uril mouth, and a buier clamped between said 5 l. A tool having a mouth for the admis- 'mouth piece and the edge of the mouth 15 sion of air, and a `flange extending thereopening into the tool. i about, a mouth piece including a tubular IRA H. SPENCER. .projection removably held Within said Witnesses:

mouth and `a wearing iange, and a buffer E. J. HEALY, 10 held between said flanges. D. E. SHEA. 

